Much study has been given to the most satisfactory way to brew beverages such as coffee and tea and it is a fact that an excellent grade of coffee or tea can be effectively ruined for consumption by improper methods of preparation of the ready-to-drink product. In general, a high quality and most satisfying coffee or tea drink is obtained only when it possesses fine characteristic aroma, delicacy of characteristic flavor, and fullness of characteristic body.
Also importantly, many consumers have come to appreciate the many various options available with respect to coffee and tea products (e.g., variations in strength, varietal type, creaminess, flavors) and there are a wide variety of coffee options (lattes, espressos, cappuccinos, etc.) and tea options (regular tea, creamy tea, chai-tea and green teas). However, especially in a commercial/industrial setting (e.g., restaurant, fast-food industry, workplace, hospitals), there are many hurdles (e.g., space, difficulty, time, and/or inconvenience) to be overcome in delivering, especially on demand, the preferred choice of beverage to a wide range of consumers.
Additionally, most individual households comprise family members with various taste preferences; heretofore, it has been, at best, cumbersome and bothersome to address individual preferences, and would require many different brewing cycles and many different receptacles to accommodate mixing of different fractions and types. It would be desirable to employ one (or at least a minimal number of) extracts in a single countertop station to efficiently accommodate various taste preferences, on demand, in a household environment.
One particularly preferred aspect of the present invention is coffee beverages. Coffee beverages comprise an aqueous solution of the water-soluble (and sometimes insoluble) constituents of the roasted and ground beans of the tree of the family Rubiaciae. There are many varieties of this plant, but the two having the most significance commercially is Caffee arabica and Caffea canephora (robusta).
Equipment for brewing beverages such as coffee, tea, and the like have typically been of the “single station” type, in which an empty carafe or pot is positioned on a heating element below a receptacle or brewing funnel which contains a measured quantity of dry beverage-making material, e.g. roast and ground coffee or tea leaves. Hot water is then passed through the material to extract the essential oils, flavor and body that make up the beverage, and then drains downwardly through an opening in the funnel into the pot or carafe. If and when a second pot or carafe of beverage is needed, the first must be moved to a separate heating element or plate.
Although such prior beverage brewers work satisfactorily for making relatively small quantities of beverage, in restaurants and other commercial and institutional establishments, there is a continuing need for equipment to make large quantities of brewed beverage, but be able to instantaneously accommodate the taste preferences of a wide variety of consumers; furthermore, this equipment must be easy to use and relatively automatic so as not to require an unreasonable amount of personal attention during the brewing cycle. The needs of restaurants, institutions and other commercial establishments are of particular concern in regard to equipment for brewing and making an acceptable cup of coffee to an individual consumer, given the limitations of space, labor, and time.
Some currently available beverage brewing devices provide essentially instantaneous hot water to brew beverages in a short amount of time. These devices typically have a hot water reservoir which maintains a volume of water at a predetermined temperature. A cold water fill tube is attached inside the reservoir, with one end close to, but not abutting, the bottom of the hot water reservoir, of a separate cold water reservoir or basin positioned above the heated reservoir. A hot water discharge tube has one end positioned in the hot water reservoir near an outlet zone generally at the top of the hot water reservoir. Another end of the discharge tube delivers hot water transported through the tube to a beverage brewing substance in order to produce a brewed beverage concentrate.
In order to brew a beverage in a beverage brewing device as described above, cold water is poured into the basin. The cold water flows through the cold water fill tube and accumulates at the bottom of the hot water reservoir due to temperature variations between the cold and hot water. The hot water is displaced by the cold water and moves upwardly towards the top of the hot water reservoir, which is sealed by a cover, and through the hot water discharge tube. Upon being dispensed into a beverage brewing substance, the hot water and beverage brewing substance create a brewed beverage concentrate. (For examples of representative instantaneous hot water beverage brewing apparati, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,201 to Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,871 to Anson, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,714 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,752, both to Brewer.)
Dilution of the brewed extract/concentrate is necessary in order to prevent the brewed extract/concentrate from being too strong as well as preventing an additional manual step of diluting the extract/concentrate after it has been brewed. Dilution of the brewed concentrate is achieved by feeding water from the basin to either the brewing funnel and allowing it to pass through the grounds/leaves or the area between the inner brewing funnel and the outer brewing funnel.
It is generally desirable to provide equipment which requires minimum maintenance by the employees. It is preferable to provide equipment which will make a sufficient volume of brew to meet the customer demands without over-producing, but in adequate quantities which can be replenished within a reasonable time with minimum attention by the employees. Additionally, and desirably, the equipment should usually be compact.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a beverage-brewing system which will allow a consumer to customize their preferred variety of beverages from a virtually endless selection of possibilities; the system of the present invention will provide an individually customized serving of beverage delivered at the desired temperature and ready to drink.